Tangled Up In You (Rogue #1)

Chapter 12

12

GAVIN

T he turnout at The Basement was larger than normal, which both excited and terrified Gavin. He only had himself to blame, though, as he’d been the one to spread the word to everyone in their school that Rogue would be performing their first live show that night.

Gavin had gone to the club before opening hours every day for a solid week, jumping in unsolicited to help setup while trying to convince the manager to give Rogue a spot to perform. He did his best to charm the man, but he likely only got the offer as a way to shut him up. He was fine with that.

The guys been thrilled to have a date but that quickly gave way to nerves. The biggest audience they’d ever had was when twenty or so neighborhood kids gathered in Conor’s back garden. To prepare, Gavin set an intense rehearsal schedule that had them feeling at least marginally better by the time the big day came.

Now, they were expected to perform in front of a full house. The band had a sound check earlier that afternoon using some equipment Conor’s father rented for them and it felt good. But that was in an empty room where they had free reign to fuck up.

It was time to put up or shut up.

Thankfully, the crowd was on their side, chanting “Rogue, Rogue, Rogue” in anticipation of them taking the stage.

“Jesus, it’s a beautiful madness hearing that,” Gavin said, smiling.

Conor slapped him on the back. “We better be able to fucking bring it.”

“No pressure,” Shay muttered, his nerves showing.

“If only,” Martin replied. “I’ll be sticking by your kit, Shay.”

“This is our night and we’ll be owning it, no doubt about it,” Gavin said. “Now, let’s crack on, lads.”

They were crammed into a side room that doubled as an office and storage room, waiting to be introduced, and had taken turns edging the door open just enough to get a sense of the turnout.

Now Gavin watched as the lights on stage dimmed and the crowd roared in anticipation. Frank MacColl, the club manager, tapped the microphone before speaking.

“Good evening to you all and thanks very much for coming out,” he said, the crowd applauding in response. “Tonight we have a special guest band. I heard them warm up earlier today and they’re every bit as good as they keep telling me they are! Please welcome Dublin’s own, Rogue!”

The lights came on in full force, revealing the band as they stepped up onto the small stage. Gavin strode forward, replacing Frank at the microphone and sending the audience wild as they started their set, beginning with their Clash-influenced song, “Day’s Done.”

Though the stage was just large enough to fit the band and their equipment, Gavin struggled at first with how to take ownership of it. He second-guessed his stance, trying various styles, including leaning in and holding the mic with both hands, a Liam Gallagher-esque version of holding his hands behind his back, and finally taking the mic from its stand and wrapping the cord around his forearm.

It was when he made eye contact with Sophie in the audience and saw her barely perceptible nod of reassurance that he loosened up and stopped worrying about trying to manufacture an image. That’s when he leaned into his natural strengths: his passion for the music, the performance, and the audience. In return, he felt the crowd gravitate toward him en masse as he sang. He climbed on top of a speaker and guided them into an enthusiastic call and response.

He was in awe of his seeming power in the moment and stopped singing, letting the crowd continue on its own.

“You’re all fucking brilliant,” he told them before taking control again.

The whole set was upbeat until the second to the last song where they debuted “Feel It.” He sang it with his full attention leveled on Sophie and by the end of the song, most of the crowd was watching her too. She was leaning into Felicity, her eyes shining with tears.

“Okay,” Gavin said, “let’s get back to that rock ’n’ roll, yeah?”

They launched into a cover of Oasis’s “Roll with It” and had the whole place jumping up and down in perfect sync. Gavin threw himself into the audience toward the end, leaving the band to finish the song as he was roughly lifted and passed around.

From his vantage point, he could see his bandmates. Conor looked like a bona fide rock star already, with his low-slung guitar and confident moves. Shay crashed down on his cymbals, nearly standing with the effort. Martin was a steady presence by the drum kit, just where he said he would be.

When he got back to his feet and was guided through to the stage again, Conor reached down and offered his hand. Gavin met his eyes as they clasped hands. Nothing needed to be said for them to understand that with this gig, they had just set off on the ride of their lives. Nothing would stop them from making Rogue into something real.

Conor helped him onto the stage and Gavin reclaimed the mic, waiting for an opening in the thunderous clapping and screaming.

“Thanks very much!” he shouted. He scanned the crowd. It was made up of people who were his friends and those he didn’t yet know, and he was stunned by the connection he felt with them. Creating and performing music was the most satisfying thing he could ever imagine doing. He wanted the night to go on and on, but their gig was officially over. “Aye, mark this date in your calendars so you can say you were there when, yeah?”

The laughter and applause followed him and the boys as they left the stage. They retreated to the office and once it was just the four of them, they stared at each other in silence for a brief moment before breaking out into incredulous laughter.

“Well, I’d say we fucking brought it,” Gavin said as he hugged each of his friends.

“You were amazing, Gav,” Shay said.

“You guys were the ones—you came through with perfection. I think there were only a few mistakes,” Gavin said and rushed on, “but that doesn’t even matter. This is it, you know? We’ve begun this, and we’re just going to keep at it and keep at it until we’re recording our songs. Then we’ll be touring. And our lives will never be the same.”

“I’m all for that,” Conor said, “but let’s have a minute to enjoy tonight first. I’d say we deserve a drink. Let’s go fucking celebrate!”

They spent the rest of the night at a table they commandeered as their own, recounting the gig. Gavin enjoyed his position at the head of the table with Sophie to his right and Conor to his left and with Shay, Martin, and Felicity filling out their group. When Frank McColl passed by, Gavin pulled him into their circle, ingratiating himself into the man’s good graces so smoothly that he was able to solicit a request for Rogue to perform another gig the following month. And when dozens of others who had been in the audience made their way to the table, Gavin was sure to give each person his full attention. He understood that this was the way to build a genuine connection with a potential fan base.

By the time The Basement closed, Gavin was finally winding down from the adrenaline high of the performance. As he walked Sophie home, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gratefully leaned into her.

“Told you,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“Biggest rock star in the world.”

He laughed. “One gig in front of a very friendly audience is all it was.”

She squeezed his waist. “You were incredible up there, Gavin. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And yeah, I know I’m biased, but I wasn’t the only one. You’ve got this magnetic energy. You had the whole crowd following your every move. This was just the start, I know it.”

“From your very kissable lips to …” he trailed off so he could press his mouth to hers. So he could taste her and tease her with kisses that went from deep and all-consuming to nipping at her bottom lip with his teeth. It had the effect he’d wanted as he heard her sigh just before a group of kids passing by jeered and whistled.

He ignored them but she pulled away with a whimper. “I have to go. I’m already past curfew.”

He kissed her again. “Break the rules. For me, darlin’.”

“I can’t.”

“You can. Rules are a fabrication, anyway. You and I don’t need rules,” he told her, holding her close.

Laughing, she said, “It’s not that easy. I have to go.”

“Then sneak me into your bedroom window and let me stay the night with you.” He kissed her cheek, then trailed his lips over her neck.

“Gavin, I’d get into so much trouble. Malachy and Lynne seem nice, but in the end, they answer to my parents.”

He sighed. “I know you’ve got it in you to rebel but I’ll let you off the hook. This time.”

“Thanks, baby. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I like the sound of that.” Grabbing her backside, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She gave him an amused smile. “Let’s go.”